The present invention relates to an all-terrain bicycle having wheels provided with a surface engaging support plate assembly connected to its rim making the bicycle particularly adapted for riding over soft and also irregular surfaces, such as sand, snow, etc.
All-terrain motorized vehicles are known and are very popular nowadays. Also, the conventional bicycle has been modified and equipped with special shock absorbers and modified tires whereby the rider can drive over irregular terrain and not be subjected to the shocks imparted by such irregular terrain. These are commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cmountain bikesxe2x80x9d. The wheels are still of the conventional construction whereby an inflatable tire is secured about the rims. However, these tires are larger in cross-section than the conventional touring bicycle and are provided with various types of tread formations to provide better surface engagement. These xe2x80x9cmountain bikesxe2x80x9d are popular for driving along rough trail surfaces such as mountain trails where the bicycle encounters irregular hard packed terrain encumbered with stones, branches, mud and other like obstacles. However, such bicycles are not practical for driving into very soft ground surfaces where there is no hard support for the tires and the tires will sink into the surface and cause the rider to fall.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide an all-terrain bicycle which is specifically adapted for riding on soft and also irregular terrain surfaces such as sand, snow or other like soft surfaces.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a novel bicycle wheel construction particularly adapted for riding on soft and also irregular terrain surfaces.
According to the above features, from a broad aspect, thee present invention provides an all-terrain bicycle which comprises a bicycle frame having a front and a rear fork to which is removably secured a front and a rear wheel. Each of the wheels have a circular rim. Spoke means interconnect a central hub of each of the wheels to the rim. The rear wheel has sprocket means secured to the central hub thereof. Means is provided to impart rotation to the sprocket means. A seat and handlebars are secured to the frame. Each of the rims have a surface engaging support shoes assembly attached thereto to provide support of the bicycle on a surface.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided an all-terrain bicycle as above-described and wherein each of the rims has a tire secured thereto and wherein the tire has a plurality of surface engaging support shoes attached therealong about an outer periphery thereof to provide support of said bicycle on a surface.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a tire for an all-terrain bicycle. The tire comprises a circumferential generally U-shaped membrane having opposed side walls engageable at a free end thereof in a bicycle rim. The tire has a wide, surface-engaging, outer circumferential wall projecting outwardly from the opposed side walls.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present invention the surface-engaging outer circumferential wall is integrally formed with the tire and defines flexible wing sections projecting outwardly from the opposed walls.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present invention the surface-engaging outer circumferential wall is constituted by a surface-engaging support shoes assembly comprising a plurality of transversely extending support plate members attached about an outer peripheral wall portion of the U-shaped membrane of the tire.